4th ENERGY STAR Building Competition

The EPA launched the 2013 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. Over 3,000 buildings across the country are competing to be dubbed the most energy efficient building and to support the Climate Action Plan, which calls for buildings to cut waste and become at least 20% more energy efficient by 2020.

IKEA aims to be energy self sufficient

As another step in its plans to become fully energy independent, IKEA agreed to purchase the 7.65-megawatt Carrickeeny Wind Farm. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but the energy company confirmed that it planned to complete the wind farm by early next year, at which point IKEA will take ownership.

Green Stamford Transportation Center

Connecticut Department of Transportation plans a $500 million redevelopment of the Stamford Transportation Center. The transit-oriented development includes 600,000 square feet of commercial office space, 60,000 square feet of street level retail space, a hotel with approximately 150 rooms, and 150 residential units. The project includes green roofs, other green elements, and landscaped pedestrian bridges.

Walgreens adds solar to over 200 stores

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, together with Chicago-based solar developer SoCore Energy, will build more than 200 new solar installations at Walgreens drugstores throughout California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. This latest expansion will bring the number of completed solar installations at Walgreens to more than 350, making it the leading retailer in number of solar powered stores.

Is your home healthy? Ask ‘WELL’

Delos Buildings partnered with Columbia University Medical Center to conduct a four-year review of 4,000 scientific studies relating to health and the environment, including building technologies. Their findings are now part of a database that helps builders create spaces that are more health- and wellness-friendly. The data that the team of medical experts, policymakers and designers developed comprise a new certification standard that Delos calls “WELL.” WELL Building Standards include filtered or purified air and water, adequate opportunities for fitness, and psychological comfort through proper lighting to balance mood and reduce stress.

LEED Gold for Meatpacking District

Rising above the shell of a landmarked former warehouse that was once part of the Gansevoort Market, construction on the planned LEED-CS Gold 837 Washington Street has topped out. On track for completion this fall, the 55,000-square-foot tower will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, natural landscaping to fill voids on the exterior created by its twisting profile, and is pursuing a Gold rating from USGBC under LEED for Core and Shell, 2009.

World's largest 'net zero energy' building

The new Phoenix regional office of DPR Construction has been officially certified as a "net zero energy" building by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). It’s the largest building in the world to achieve net zero energy building certification through the institute to date. SmithGroupJJR designed the comprehensive renovation of the windowless, 1970s concrete block building, transitioning it into a model for sustainable adaptive reuse.

Over 4.3 million occupy LEED buildings

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its inaugural LEED in Motion report, a holistic statistical snapshot of the green building movement aimed at equipping its members with the insight to make a strong case for sustainable building activity. LEED in Motion: People and Progress, the first of three reports in the series, examines the individuals and organizations that are driving and benefitting from green building. Currently, USGBC estimates that more than 4.3 million people live and work in LEED-certified buildings, while more than 6.2 million people experience a LEED-certified project every day.

Green roofs for New York’s Clinton Park

Located at the Western edge of Midtown Manhattan, a new Clinton Park mixed-use development occupies more than half of a city block, comprising a total of 1.3 million square feet of commercial and residential programs. Each floor steps up from the one below, allowing for unobstructed views to the park and the Hudson River and providing private roof terraces with green roofs on every floor.

California leads in LEED-certified projects

California leads the nation for LEED-certified projects, with a recent USGBC report counting 6,438 commercial LEED projects in the state, totaling more than one billion square feet of space.